Mark Twain II (Ever the Twain Shall Meet)

As it turns out, my decision to sculpt Samuel Langhorne Clemens as the first in a series of sculptures honoring the ‘greats’ turned out to be the right one. The “Great Contributors” was an easy title – subject matter, not so easy – as it is so vast.  Sculpting Mr. Twain has delightfully revealed to me as an artist – mankind’s need for the bare facts, but cloaked in the palatability of humor!  Twain inherently understood that principle but had to trod through many professions (printer, river pilot, soldier, miner, reporter, lecturer, editor, etc.) before he could finally capitalize on it.  

All of us need to laugh – not only at our circumstances and humanly plight, but more importantly at ourselves. Let us always remember:  “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”  – Mark Twain

– Gary Lee Price